How to write a winning cover letter

Don’t Repeat Yourself

The number one mistake with cover letters is just reiterating what you have already put on your CV. Instead, match your skills in relation to the job you are applying for. Delve deep into your skills and experience and speak about your personal qualities which you haven’t yet mentioned. Next, move on to any holes in your CV, perhaps you took a year out, or did a very random degree, explain the relevance of this in your cover letter.

Be Non-Generic

Cover Letters can be very easily predicted. However, depending on the job you are applying for, why not add in a little creativity. Perhaps, you want to completely step away from the normal format of your average cover letter, using very little text, and illustrate your experience with diagrams and graphs, making your cover letter stand out for the right reasons.

Customise It

Just like you CV, one size does not fit all. Examine the job you are applying for and use your cover letter to explain how your skills will be used for that job. Using buzz-words that the company exercise on their website, or in the job advert will help with this.

Short and Strong

As challenging as this may sound, the longer you make it, the less likely it is to be look at. A short cover letter means two things, you have no room for waffle and you haven’t had the space to come across over-confident.

To finish, close out your cover letter with a strong statement, which will keep you in the hiring manager’s mind. Let them know you will hit the ground running from the get go and that you want a chance to meet, to further explain how you could enhance their company with your experience.